Case Study: CT - Nasal disease
Harry, a four year old Labrador, had been sneezing over the previous 6 weeks, and recently his owners had noticed that there was a small amount of blood coming from his left nostril whenever he sneezed. Radiographs (X-rays) had been taken by Harry’s primary veterinarian but they did not show any abnormalities. Although X-rays can show changes with many nasal diseases, sometimes nothing shows up until the changes are quite extensive. We therefore felt that it would be worth performing further imaging studies and recommended a CT of his nose, as this can be more sensitive at picking up changes in the nose than normal X-rays. Fortunately for Harry, the CT showed the problem and we were able to make a presumptive diagnosis of a fungal infection. This was confirmed with further tests and Harry was started on appropriate antifungal treatment and his response to therapy has been good.
The image here shows the normal fine turbinate bones (they look like a maze!) filling one half of his nasal cavity, and a complete absence of them in the other half (destroyed by the fungus).
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